Swim Fin Boot

ABSTRACT

A swim fin boot includes a fin portion having a body member and a pair of opposed side rails, each side rail including an extension segment connected to a proximal end of the body member and extending away therefrom, respective extension segments being spaced apart from and parallel to one another. Each side rail includes a boundary segment connected to body portion peripheral edges, the body portion extending between the side rail boundary segments. A boot member includes an ankle portion defining an open top configured to selectively receive insertion of a person&#39;s foot. The boot member includes a foot portion connected to a lower end of the ankle portion defining an interior cavity configured to receive the person&#39;s foot when inserted into the ankle portion, the foot portion being connected to respective side rail extension segments such that the fin portion and the boot member have a unitary construction.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application relates to and claims the benefit of a previously filed U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/398,252 filed Jun. 21, 2010, and entitled Swim Fin with Ankle Bootie.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to footwear that may be used for assisting propulsion in various water-bound personal sport activities and, more particularly, to water propulsion footwear that has an ankle portion so as to secure the footwear to the user's foot and ankle more firmly.

Devices to aid a person in propelling or otherwise assisting a person move in water, such as diving, swimming, surfing, body boarding and the like, are popular and desirable to improve a user's performance. Propulsion devices are well known in water-bound personal sport activities and may include various bladed foot attachments, such as swim fins. Swim fins provide a portable means for aided propulsion that are easy to store, generally simple to care for, and typically fall within a price range appropriate for particular sport enthusiasts (e.g., divers, surfers, body boarders) and the general public alike.

However, traditional designs and constructions of swim fins have certain disadvantages, including, for example, providing enough propulsion for the particular activity involved without placing undue energy, torque, or force demands on the wearer's ability to use the fin; providing the wearer with the ability to walk on dry land without removing the fin; providing a secure attachment to the wearer's foot and ankle; and providing sufficient flexibility in the fin portion.

SUMMARY OF THE PRIOR ART

With specific reference to the prior art, various products and patent proposals have been made for attaching swim fin devices to a user's foot. For instance, (1) wrap-around ankle straps were disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,155,898 to Burns et al. and 5,356,323 to Evans; (2) fastening straps that clamp together across the dorsal side of a user's instep (i.e., the “top of the foot”) were disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,795,204 to Bruner and PCT Pub. No. WO 01/89653 for Testa et al.; and iii) even sports-sandal-like foot compartments, complete with open-toe designs, have recently appeared in PCT Pub. No. WO 2010/014383 for Fraser et al.

Each of these approaches, however, has disadvantages and shortcomings. Specifically, the wrap-around ankle strap is flimsy and can easily break apart or slip out of place. Such means are typically reserved for low-end children's and consumer model swim fins, where cost savings are at a premium. Fastening straps that clamp over the dorsal instep are cumbersome to operate and are typically made of plastic or metal, both of which are undesirable materials for water-sport devices in that the plastic dries out and the metal may rust. While such straps are making a well known appearance into the worlds of athletic and sports footwear generally (e.g., cycling shoes, ski boots, motorcycle boots, and even some sprinters' spikes etc.), they have proven undesirable for middle to upper market swim fins. And further, while the sports sandal may have a certain aesthetic appeal to sports-minded individuals—reminiscent of cross training shoes, hiking sandals and even so called “flip-flop” shoes in some cases—they are not appropriate for all swim-fin applications. Their hefty bulk and often loose fit, which might be advantageous to the general fitness enthusiast just taking up water sports, are not qualities that experienced divers, surfers, and body boarders are particularly prone to appreciate or even to tolerate. The latter category of users requires sleekness, comfort, and a reliable fit instead.

Further, striking the right balance between flexibility and strength has also received much in the way of focused innovation in the swim-fin arts. Extensible fins have been proposed (e.g., Burns and Fraser, above) as have fin portions with anterior side ribs (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,884,135 to Hu). These too leave some divers, surfers, and body boarders underserved by their swim fins. Extensible fins provide a convenient means by which to manually adjust the force versus flexibility ratio of a given fin, but the manual adjustment is often inconvenient, and inadvertent adjustments or slippage can occur with the extensible portion. Conversely, anterior side ribs are well known in the art, but place substantially all of the rigidity on the side to the fins while typically leaving the center regions flimsy and susceptible to breakage or tearing.

Therefore, it would be desirable to have a swim fin boot that is securable to a wearer's ankle and lower leg region that is integrally connected to a swim fin such that the swim fin maintains a secure and comfortable connection to wearer's foot in use. Further, it would be desirable to have a swim fin boot in which the bootie includes a fastener, such as a zipper, for adjustment of the ankle bootie. In addition, it would be desirable to have a swim fin boot that includes a mix of neoprene and rubber that is comfortable, flexible, and easy for a wearer to put on and take off.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A swim fin boot for wear by a person for participation in water recreation activities according to the present invention includes a fin portion having a body member and a pair of opposed side rails, each side rail including an extension segment connected to a proximal end of the body member and extending away therefrom, respective extension segments of the side rails being spaced apart from and generally parallel to one another. Each side rail includes a boundary segment connected to respective peripheral edges of the body portion, the body portion extending between the side rail boundary segments. A boot member includes a tubular ankle portion defining an open top configured to selectively receive insertion of the person's foot. The boot member includes a foot portion connected to a lower end of the ankle portion defining an interior cavity configured to receive the person's foot when inserted into the ankle portion, the foot portion being connected to respective side rail extension segments such that the fin portion and the boot member have a unitary construction.

Therefore, a general object of this invention is to provide a swim fin boot with ankle member that overcomes the disadvantages exhibited by the proposed swim fins of the prior art discussed above.

Another object of this invention is to provide a swim fin boot, as aforesaid, that securely connects a swim fin portion with an ankle portion for a comfortable fit.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a swim fin boot, as aforesaid, that is adjustable on a wearer's ankle.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a swim fin boot, as aforesaid, that has a snug fit around a wearer's entire foot and ankle.

A further object of this invention is to provide a swim fin boot, as aforesaid, that enables a wearer to walk on a floor or ground surface without first removing the device.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a swim fin boot, as aforesaid, that includes a predetermined ratio of fin stiffness and flexibility.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example, embodiments of this invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a swim fin boot according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 a is another perspective view of the swim fin boot as in FIG. 1 showing the ankle portion thereof in a closed configuration;

FIG. 2 b is a perspective view of the swim fin boot as in FIG. 1 showing the ankle portion thereof in an open configuration;

FIG. 3 a is a side view of the swim fin boot as in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 b is a sectional view taken along line 3 b-3 b of FIG. 3 a; and

FIG. 3 c is a sectional view taken along line 3 c-3 c of FIG. 3 a.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A swim fin boot will now be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 c of the accompanying drawings. The swim fin boot 10 includes a fin portion 20 having a body member 30 and opposed side rails 40. The swim fin boot 10 further includes a boot member 50 having an ankle portion 60, heel portion 70, and foot portion 80, the boot member 50 being connected to the fin portion 20 in a unitary construction.

Now with specific reference to the drawings, the body member 30 of the fin portion 20 essentially is the webbing used for propelling a wearer through the water and may also be referred to generally herein as the ‘fin.” The body member 30 may include a generally flat construction or it may have various relief features (such as nubs, recesses, channels, or the like) intended to alter the way the body member 30 cuts through or pushes water during use. The body member 30 spans between the opposed side rails 40 as described below and includes opposed proximal 32 and distal 34 ends having opposed peripheral edges 36 spanning between the proximal 32 and distal 34 ends. The body member webbing 30 may be constructed of rubber or neoprene although other materials exhibiting similar characteristics may also be suitable.

It is the action of the body member webbing 30 pushing against the surrounding water as the user kicks his or her legs and feet that generates propulsion. In one embodiment, the body member 30 may be of relatively short length of approximately between twelve inches (12″) and eighteen inches (18″), with one preferred embodiment being fifteen inches (15″), as measured from the heel cup portion 70 to the end of the body member 30 when measured along the outer peripheral edge 36 of body member 30. This embodiment may be more appropriate for boarding sports such as surfing, boogie boarding, or body boarding. In another embodiment the body member 30 is of relatively longer length of between eighteen inches (18″) and twenty-four (24″) inches—with one preferred embodiment of twenty-one inches (21″), as measured along the same dimension as above, and may be more appropriate for diving. Differing degrees of stiffness and/or flexibility are also permitted in different embodiments of the presently disclosed inventions—and when combined with the differing lengths of fin portion 20 provide enough permutations in product design to create an entire commercial line of swim fins of multiple distinct embodiments of the presently disclosed invention.

Each of the opposed side rails 40 includes an extension segment 42 that is attached to or integrally connected to the body member proximal end 32 and extends away therefrom. In addition, the extension segments 42 are spaced apart from one another and, preferably, generally parallel thereto. Accordingly, the extension segments 42 define a void, such as a generally U-shaped cutout into which the foot portion 80 of the boot member 50 is situated and connected to the fin portion 20, as will be described in more detail later. Each of the side rails 40 further includes a boundary segment 44 attached to or extending along a respective body member peripheral edge 36. It is understood that the boundary segments 44 may extend laterally outwardly so as to become more spaced apart at said body member distal 34 end than at the body member proximal end 32. In that regard, the body member 30 itself may have a width at its distal 34 end that is greater than its width at the proximal end 32. The boundary segments 44 of respective side rails 40 may have either a linear or an annular configuration, depending on the embodiment and particular use application. The side rails 40 may be reinforced by a metallic rod insert or additional webbing connecting the side rails 40 to the foot cavity 82.

The boot member 50 includes the ankle portion 60 and the foot portion 80, the foot portion 80 being connected to a lower end of the ankle portion 60. More particularly, the ankle portion 60 includes a generally tubular configuration defining an open top 62 and is configured to receive insertion of a person's foot through the open top 62. The foot portion 80 defines an interior cavity 82 (also referred to as the foot cavity) configured to receive a person's foot therein. It is understood that when a person's foot is inserted into the ankle portion 60, the person's foot extends into the interior cavity 82 of the foot portion 80 and the ankle portion 60 is situated snugly around the person's ankle in a manner to prevent chaffing about the ankle—eliminating any need to wear a sock or other boot—and provide support from injury amongst other benefits. In some embodiments, the foot portion 80 is constructed of materials that include an insulation layer configured to protect an inserted foot from the effects of cold water in use.

Preferably, the ankle portion 60 extends upwardly from the foot portion 80 about ankle high on a wearer. In some embodiments, the ankle portion 60 may extend above the ankle for enhanced support and comfort. It is also understood that the configuration of the foot cavity 82 may be customized to a wearer's particular foot size or characteristics. The ankle portion 60 may be constructed of rubber although other materials may be suitable, such as plastic, neoprene, carbon fiber, spring-form metal, or any other material that can hold the ankle heel in place and remain rigid yet comfortable while the swim fin boot 10 is in use. In a customized embodiment, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that a mold of a user's foot may be taken and form the basis for a mold for manufacturing or another process resulting in a fit for the user that is optimal in comfort, support, and performance.

The ankle portion 60 of the boot member 50 includes a construction that is movable or adjustable between a partially or substantially open configuration (FIG. 2 b) in which the open top 62 is enlarged to more easily receive insertion of a wearer's foot therein and a substantially closed configuration (FIG. 2 a) in which a wearer's foot, when inserted through the open top 62 and into the foot portion 80, is held securely in the foot portion 80. Preferably, the boot member 50 is substantially watertight when a person's foot is inserted through the ankle portion 60 and the ankle portion 60 is at the closed configuration (FIG. 2 a).

The ankle portion 60 may include a fastener 64 situated to hold the ankle portion 60 at the closed configuration when actuated (FIG. 2 a) and to enable the ankle portion 60 to move to the open configuration when released (FIG. 2 b). Preferably, the fastener 64 is a zipper as shown in the drawings, although the fastener 64 may alternatively be one of a zipper, complementary hook and loops fasteners, buttons, snaps, clasps, hooks, buckles, or the like. It is understood that the fastener 64 provides some degree of variability in how the tubular ankle-high portion is adjusted to conform to the wearer's lower extremities.

The ankle portion 60 may further include one or more reinforced rubber seams 66. In a preferred embodiment, the ankle portion 60 includes a pair of seams 66 although another quantity of seams may be suitable. The purpose of the reinforced rubber seams 66 is to provide lateral support to the ankle portion 60 for ease of putting the swim fins on and taking them off of the wearer. In some embodiments, the fastener/zipper 64 may be integrally connected to one of the reinforced rubber seams 66.

Preferably, the ankle portion 60 is integrally connected to the foot portion 80 such that the foot easily slips into the foot cavity 82 in a smooth and natural fashion when the wearer inserts his or her foot into the ankle portion 60. In other words, the ankle portion 60 and foot cavity 82 may be formed within a bilayer of material that eventually comes together to form the body member 30. The bilayer of material (surrounding the foot cavity 82) may be neoprene, rubber, plastic, lycra, or any other material that is suitable for swim fin construction. In some embodiments, the foot cavity 82 may be custom-fitted to a particular wearer's foot. In other embodiments, the foot cavity 82 comes in one or more customary shapes so as to fit a standard wearer's foot. It should also be apparent now that the integrated section of a foot portion 80, ankle portion 60, and fin portion 20 provide a functionality and flexibility never before proposed in the prior art.

The boot member 50 includes a heel portion 70 situated generally at a rearward end of the foot cavity 82. The heel portion 70 is positioned intermediate the ankle portion 60 and the foot portion 80. It may alternately be described that the foot cavity 82 is situated inside the heel portion 70 such that the user's heel easily and naturally slides into place within the heel portion 70 upon a wearer inserting his or her foot into ankle portion 60.

The body member 30 (also referred to generally as the fin) may include a generally triangular-shaped piece of material that may be constructed of rubber, neoprene, vinyl, lycra, or any other flexible, lightweight and water resistant material. Different length body members 30 can be fashioned to accommodate different users' needs and may be made out of a combination of neoprene and rubber. The lateral side rails 40 provide the body member 30 with a basic harness or frame upon which to connect and to provide a degree of stiffness and strength for when the wearer is kicking the fins in water. In some embodiments, the distal 34 end of the body member 30 may define a generally V-shaped notch 38 so that the fin portion 20 is a split fin configuration. In still other embodiments, the foot cavity 82 may include a plurality of toe compartments (not shown) to further secure a wearer's foot in place therein.

It is understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims and allowable functional equivalents thereof. 

1. A swim fin boot for wear by a person for participation in water recreation activities, comprising: a fin portion having a body member and a pair of opposed side rails, each side rail including an extension segment connected to a proximal end of said body member and extending away therefrom, respective extension segments of said side rails being spaced apart from and generally parallel to one another; wherein each side rail includes a boundary segment connected to respective peripheral edges of said body portion, said body portion extending between said side rail boundary segments; a boot member having a generally tubular ankle portion defining an open top configured to selectively receive insertion of the person's foot; wherein said boot member includes a foot portion connected to a lower end of said ankle portion defining an interior cavity configured to receive the person's foot when inserted into said ankle portion, said foot portion being connected to respective side rail extension segments such that said fin portion and said boot member are connected together;
 2. The swim fin boot of claim 1, wherein said ankle portion is selectively movable between a substantially open configuration in which said open top is enlarged to receive the person's foot therethrough into the ankle portion and into the foot portion, and a substantially closed configuration in which the person's foot, when inserted through said open top, is held securely in said foot portion.
 3. The swim fin boot of claim 1 further comprising at least one zipper situated in said ankle portion of said boot member, operation of said at least one zipper moving said ankle portion between said open and closed configurations.
 4. The swim fin boot of claim 1, wherein said fin portion and said foot portion of said boot member include a unitary construction.
 5. The swim fin boot of claim 1, wherein said fin portion and said boot member include a unitary construction.
 6. The swim fin boot of claim 1 wherein the ankle portion is supported by at least one reinforced seam.
 7. The swim fin boot of claim 1 further comprising at least one fastener situated in said ankle portion of said boot member, operation of said at least one fastener moving said ankle portion between said open and closed configurations.
 8. The swim fin boot of claim 7, wherein said fastener is one of a zipper, complementary hook and loop fasteners, buttons, snaps, clasps, hooks, and buckles.
 9. The swim fin boot of claim 1 wherein said boot member includes a heel portion at a rearward end of said foot portion and situated intermediate said ankle portion and said foot portion.
 10. The swim fin boot of claim 1 wherein the foot portion includes a plurality of toe compartments.
 11. The swim fin boot of claim 1, wherein said body member of said fin portion includes a distal end defining a generally V-shaped notch split fin configuration.
 12. The swim fin boot of claim 1, wherein a length of said fin portion is within the range of 12 to 15 inches when measured along one of said side rails.
 13. The swim fin boot of claim 1 wherein a length of said fin portion is within the range of 18 to 21 inches when measured along one of said side rails. 